Chapter 237 - Playboy: Why Me?

"Hugh Hefner?" Lin Ming Yang looked at Ecks in confusion, "What's he looking for me for?"

Ecks shrugged, "That's a question I'd like to know as well."

Lin Ming Yang combed through all the memories in his head, and froze, not realizing that his past experiences had crossed paths with that Hugh Hefner who had shockingly founded Playboy magazine and spared no effort in expanding his erotic empire.

Ecks looked at Lin Ming Yang very seriously, "Usually there will only be two scenarios where a Hollywood star gets involved with Hefner...either he's trying to interview you in Playboy, or he's trying to publish your nude photos in Playboy."

Lin Ming Yang clasped his hands, "I don't think it's that simple..."

Ecks thought of another possibility and said not without flirtation, "Maybe he's preparing to share his experience in picking up girls with you!"

Lin Ming Yang ignored Ecks' "sarcasm", he pondered for a moment and then suddenly said, "How is Hefner's Playboy Group's recent business situation?"

----

Mention Playboy Group, can not not say Hefner, the magazine's founder once in an interview described his life as a cocktail, April 9, 1926, Hefner was born in the United States, Illinois, Chicago. In high school he wrote and drew well, was a student leader, and was a "very decent" young man, but unfortunately did not become the object of girls' affection.

After his discharge from the army, in 1951, he worked as a publisher for Gentleman magazine and fantasized about creating his own cartoon look. The cocktail of life was as empty and boring as his life at the age of 26, and Hefner would often walk home with a beer in his hand, gazing out at the bright lights of the city at night, dreaming of money and a future.

Unfortunately Heffner did not have as good a luck as Disney, just happened to come across a magical mouse in his garage, so Heffner's first dream was shattered. But even he didn't think that later he would create a magical rabbit that would then become one of the symbols of American culture.

Life is so wonderful, it for you to close a door at the same time will often open another door for you. 1953 fall, 27-year-old Hugh Hefner borrowed $8,000 from friends and relatives, spent $500 to buy the rights to the Monroe ** photo, founded the Playboy.

In the inaugural issue, Hefner ambitiously wrote: "If you're a man, between the ages of 18 and 80, then Playboy is the magazine for you...If you want to be entertained with a humorous, insightful, and sizzling experience, then Playboy will be right up your alley! ...We want to make it clear from the beginning that Playboy is not a magazine for the whole family...If you're someone's sister, wife, or mother-in-law and you accidentally pick up one of our magazines, pass it on to a male member of the family, and read Women's Home Companion for yourself. "

Although well aware of the magazine's niche, Heffner himself didn't know if there was another issue of the magazine, so there was no printed publication date. He ran to the newsstand to view it surreptitiously, and a young man about his age saw a nude photo of Marilyn Monroe, flushed, flipped through it hastily, tucked it in his pocket, paid for it, and scurried away.

Hefner knew he had succeeded, and the inaugural issue ended up selling more than 50,000 copies. The entire United States was thrilled with this unprecedented men's magazine featuring female nudity, talking about sex, love, taste in life, and how to relax. Heffner used the money he earned to pay off his loans and buy a new car. His life began, and the cocktails started to get sweeter.

His magazine became a symbol of the entertainment industry in Chicago and throughout the United States. The Playboy Mansion, located in the center of the city, held daily raves, and he compiled the magazine's sexy culture from his bed. He was forever in his pajamas, and as the cocktails became cloudy and sweet, Heffner's life was moving from one Bunny Girl to another.

Playboy hit record sales of more than seven million copies in the Seventies, but as the **** flag no longer had a rallying cry, and the raucous Revolutionary Era slipped into the age of materialistic consumerism, where pornography and scandal became the centerpiece of the entertainment industry, and shameless nastiness took the place of sensuality and hedonism, Playboy and Heffner retreated to their bedrooms and lost their way in indulgence. Throughout the late 1970s, Playboy saw many competitors, causing a gradual decline in the sale of its magazines.

Despite the competition, Playboy has managed to maintain an average circulation of around 3.2 million copies in recent years, with approximately 10 million American adults purchasing the magazine each month. As the magazine grew in popularity, many Hollywood actresses competed to be Playboy's cover girl, including big names such as Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda and Madonna. Eventually, Playboy expanded into a large conglomerate of publishing, audio-visual, entertainment and apparel.

----

"I forgot about this until you told me!" Ecks took out a newspaper from the drawer and handed it to Lin Ming Yang: "This is the UK's Daily Mail, it says that due to the financial crisis, it lost as much as 103 million pounds in the last quarter, and even Hefner, who retired to the background, seems to have been hit hard, and the industry under his name is even facing the threat of bankruptcy."

"For the sake of the overall situation, some senior management suggested that Hefner lay off employees to tide over the difficult times, otherwise it will by at risk of facing bankruptcy. Hearing this rumor, Hefner's stars jumped ship in order to save themselves. This move undoubtedly added insult to injury. Hefner single-handedly built the flower company group some time ago, the share price fell sharply from 6.2 pounds to 1.55 pounds, business red light. Shareholders in the group have said they are more than willing to sell the group if someone offers a reasonable price for it."

Ecks told Lin Mingyang the general situation, at this time an odd thought popped up in his mind, could it be that Hefner was ready to throw the hot potato of the Playboy Group to Lin Mingyang.

Lin Ming Yang put down the newspaper with a helpless expression on his face, his general judgment was basically the same as that of Ecks, the two of them glanced at each other, the same doubt welled up in their hearts, why would Hefner do this?

Both of them were silent at the same time, in the end it was Lin Ming Yang who took the lead and asked, "How much do you know about Heffner?"

"God bless the Queen of England, the devil bless Hefner!" Ecks almost blurted out, "He leads an 'enviable' 'flowery life', but some people call him a stallion!"

"Just because he claimed to have slept with 1000 women?" Lin Mingyang bristled with concern, "Most of the people who say such things do so out of jealousy, they can't eat grapes so they say grapes are sour!"

Hefner, who has entered his old age, has not changed his flirtatious personality, and once attended his 75th birthday party in Cannes, France, as "seven stars with the moon", blowing out the candles with seven sexy and beautiful Playboy "Playmates". After divorcing his second wife, Hefner returned to a life of flirtation, attending birthday parties with his girlfriends, but never remembering the names of his seven girlfriends.

Lin Ming Yang also played such a spunky character in Iron Man, but compared to Hefner, that's what he calls the real deal. It was estimated that even he didn't remember how many girlfriends he had in his life, it was estimated to be around two thousand. That is to say, assuming that one can live to the age of eighty, excluding the ten years before the age of ten, that means that there are seventy years to break this record, what kind of concept is that, to be more specific, there should be about thirty new girlfriends every year, this is in Lin Ming Yang's opinion is something that he dare not try but is extremely challenging.

Ecks reminded, "I don't want to comment more on Hefner's private life, on this topic, maybe you and him will have quite a lot to talk about...but I've never underestimated Hefner, in other people's eyes, he might be a guy who only thinks with his lower body, but if that was the case, today's Playboy Group wouldn't be could have used that much fame. Hefner is an entrepreneur first and foremost, before he is a playboy!"

"I've never had any doubts about what you said, but what I can't figure out is that among the people the Playboy Group can choose to cooperate with, I should be the one most likely to refuse this cooperation, and Hefner himself should be aware of this, but why did he still ask me to meet him?"

Ecks didn't answer, "Could it be that you really don't have any thoughts about acquiring the Flower Company Group?"

Lin Ming Yang gave him a noncommittal look, "Do you think I have so much free money in my hands right now?"

Ecks looked as if he was positive about the matter, "We can pledge a portion of MGM's shares to the bank through capital maneuvering. With MGM's current momentum, I think most banks would be happy to facilitate financing for us."

Lin Ming Yang said with some indignation, "To ask me to take over a pornography empire, what do you take me for... Even though I admit that I'm not pure, I'm not open enough to share my private life with others."

"I think Hefner actually wanted to change Playboy's brand image by making you a target for collaboration, and he also wanted to increase the 'readability' of the magazine, rather than the 'watchability' of the direct sensory stimulation ."

Eckels spreads out the paper, points to a passage at the top, and says aloud, "We like our own room. Like to mix cocktails and snacks to enjoy together and play some sad tunes on the tape recorder. Invite a woman to quietly explore Picasso, Nietzsche, jazz and sex. Those were Hefner's words when he founded World Playboy magazine, and he's now striving to bring it back to tradition."

Lin Mingyang looked at Ecks with wide eyes, "You're asking me to change a pornographic magazine and make it elegant?"

"Not to change it, but to make it more visceral and grasp the pulse of this era...at least on this point I think Hefner's vision is spot on, there really is no one better than you in Hollywood!"